As I was saying, there is no end to interesting material in this company. I was talking to one of the project managers. The guy told me he did not exactly know who he was reporting to. Apparently, his management has beenalternating between a few individuals and at some point he lost track and nobody is bothering to correct the situation.

Now let's stop and think for a minute. Can anyone really function to their utmost effectiveness when they are in such a limbo? Who does he go to discuss his career path (I guess there is not one planned) Who is responsible to take care of his motivation, pay review, etc. etc.

I am telling you this place continues to amaze me. You wonder, is it by design? How can people in management be so ignorant? How does this happen?

One of the real serious problems with small companies is all higher level people are doers and task oriented. They rise in the organization because whatever they do they do it well. So as they take on more responsibility, they do even more, to a point that they have no time for other people, no communication and no leading. It is a downward spiral.

Who is going to tell them that as they go up in the organization, key to success is to do less tasks and more leadership. Do they really know and can not afford to behave properly, or have they ever recieved any training in management and leadership? Who knows...

I think that is the main reason why most small companies stay small. No vision, no strategy, just keep on doing more of what you have been doing. Can't be bad, after all that's what got you to where you are.